Development Economist and World Bank Consultant Sobir Kurbanov joins Dr. Dania Arayssi to discuss his field experience across Central Asia, focusing on three themes: practical reform experience, the role of donors, and the importance of institutions.

He highlights Uzbekistan’s rapid, top-driven reforms under new leadership, contrasts that with Tajikistan’s Digital CASA connectivity efforts, and explains when budget support versus project lending is effective.

The episode emphasizes the need for strong public finance systems, fiduciary trust, and durable institutions to sustain reforms, with special attention to energy sector and public–private dialogue.

Is Central Asia entering a new era of resource-driven geopolitics — or repeating old patterns of dependency? In this episode of the Central Asia Center Podcast, Senior Analyst Dania Arayssi speaks with Dr. Ariel Cohen, a leading expert on energy geopolitics in Russia and Central Asia, about the growing importance of critical minerals and energy security in shaping the region’s relationship with the United States. As global demand for critical minerals accelerates, the conversation explores whether this moment presents an opportunity for deeper, more balanced partnerships — or risks reinforcing longstanding patterns of resource dependency. Drawing on decades of experience, Dr. Cohen reflects on how Central Asia has evolved from a post-Soviet periphery into a region of growing strategic importance, and what this shift means for global competition, regional development, and future U.S. engagement.

What is the future of U.S. engagement in Central Asia, and how has Washington’s approach to the region evolved over time?

In this episode of the Central Asia Center Podcast, Senior Analyst Dania Arayssi speaks with former U.S. Ambassador Daniel Rosenblum, who served in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and spent nearly three decades at the U.S. State Department across five presidential administrations.

Drawing on his extensive experience, Ambassador Rosenblum reflects on the surprising continuity in U.S. policy toward Central Asia, including a sustained focus on sovereignty, stability, and economic development, even amid broader geopolitical shifts.

The conversation also explores the legacy of Cold War-era policies such as the Jackson-Vanik sanctions, their relevance today, and what their potential removal could mean for regional economic integration and U.S. strategy moving forward.

🎙️ Featuring: Daniel Rosenblum, Former U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

Hosted by Dania Arayssi, Senior Analyst at New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy